


My Whole Life Depends on You

by desperationandgin



Category: Outlander (TV), Outlander Series - Diana Gabaldon
Genre: Canon Compliant, F/M, finale fic, post 5x12
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-16
Updated: 2020-05-16
Packaged: 2021-03-03 01:20:08
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 753
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24216544
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/desperationandgin/pseuds/desperationandgin
Summary: A nightmare.
Relationships: Claire Beauchamp/Jamie Fraser
Comments: 26
Kudos: 212





	My Whole Life Depends on You

**Author's Note:**

> No graphic mentions of anything that happened to Claire in the finale.

_Jamie_.

She can feel flames closing in, licking at her ankles, and she screams again.

_Jamie_.

She doesn’t know if it’s out loud or in her mind; the roar of the crowd is too chaotic, the crackling of the fire reverberating against her eardrums. The struggle against her bonds is fruitless, the rope tightening with each movement. A look to her left and Geillis is burning, and Claire screams once more, her throat raw with his name tearing out of her.

“Claire!”

Her head snaps up, the sound of his voice giving her renewed strength. She fights and struggles, desperately attempting to free her hands. She’s so close; she can hear Jamie calling out to her above the din as she cries, still pulling against her bonds as her skirts catch fire. He isn’t going to make it; she’s going to burn to death and take his heart with her.

A hand reaches through the flames, _his_ hand, she knows in an instant. Jamie’s fingers wrap around her wrist, the cool contrast to the heat causing her eyes to fly open and her breath to leave her in a choked sob.

There is no pyre, no shouting chants of _watch the witch burn!_ echoing in the room.

Jamie slowly lets go of her arm as she returns to consciousness. Their room is dark, the hearth banked for the night, though she can hear Rollo pacing on the porch. Bringing a hand to her throat, she realizes she was truly screaming, and she buries her face in her hands, pitching forward as a sob wracks her frame.

It’s been a month since Jamie brought her home. Each night is different; not all of them include nightmares. 

None of them have come with the terror that is a woman screaming in the night.

She hears a knock distantly, feels the vibration of Jamie speaking from beside her, but she registers nothing until his voice cuts through the fog as he addresses her quietly.

“Come to me, Sassenach?” 

He’s gentle with his request and demands nothing, but she can think of no other place she would rather be. Curling herself into as small of a form as she can means that Jamie can wrap himself nearly all the way around her. Her protector. Her shield.

“Y-you came for me,” she reminds herself aloud, voice shaking as her fingers cling to the fabric of his shirt.

“Aye, _mo nighean donn_.” She can hear the strain in his voice and feels him drop a soft kiss to the top of her head. “I found ye and brought ye home.”

His apology for not getting there soon enough is palpable in the room, but he doesn’t say it.

“Ye’re home. Safe wi’ me, and no more harm will come to ye here.”

As long as she can stay this way, tucked in his arms, she thinks that might be true. 

Once she’s calm and her thoughts filter back to the rational, she realizes who must have knocked on the door.

“I frightened Ian.” He’s been sleeping outside since their return, a silent protector.

“He kens ye’re wi’ me. He was only worrit, Sassenach,” Jamie soothes, words whispered into her hair.

Silence fills the room, both of them now breathing quiet and even.

“I thought I would never see you again.” Her tears have since stopped, but the fear is still there in her voice.

Not tightening his overall hold, Jamie simply squeezes her shoulder gently, mindful of any lingering pain she might have.

“I knew you would come, but there was so much...I didn’t know how far we’d gone, exactly.”

Her breath hitches, and she doesn’t need to say more to know his heart is in his throat.

“I found yer hair, _a nighean_ ,” Jamie reveals, one hand carefully resting at the back of her head. 

She’d tugged curls out a few strands at a time, desperately hoping to leave a trail.

“It was all I could think to do.”

When her voice breaks he kisses her forehead. “Ye were braw. My strong wife,” he murmurs, voice heavy with emotion.

Slowly, she uncurls herself in order to tuck her head under his chin, able to hear his heartbeat with her ear pressing to his chest. Reaching for his hand, she drags his arm over her to keep her close. “Don’t let me go.”

Jamie holds her close and listens to her breathing to reassure himself that she’s calm.

“I’ll hold ye forever, Sassenach.”

She wishes that he could.


End file.
